Airbag and airbag technology have been known and used for decades. These airbag systems are designed such that in the event of an accident or crash, the airbag will inflate and become positioned on the interior of the vehicle. Such positioning of the airbag will prevent the vehicle occupant from harmfully impacting the windshield, steering wheel, dashboard, vehicle door, or other portions of the vehicle interior. Airbags have been credited with saving thousands of lives and are now standard on new motor vehicles.
In order to inflate and deploy the airbag during a crash, an inflator is used. The inflator produces and/or channels a large quantity of inflation gas into the airbag, thereby inflating the airbag and causing the airbag to become positioned in the vehicle interior. One type of inflator that is commonly used is the so-called “pyrotechnic” inflator. This type of inflator includes a gas generant that will be ignited during an accident or crash. Such ignition of the gas generant readily produces a large quantity of inflation gas that is then channeled into the inflator and used to deploy the airbag.
Pyrotechnic inflators generally include a filter that operates to filter the gas prior to having the gas exit the inflator and enter the airbag. However, positioning the filter within the inflator can be difficult and expensive. Also, the filter operates to cool the gas so that the inflator does not “flash.” Likewise, the quantity of inflation gas produced by a pyrotechnic inflator will contact the airbag at a high rate of speed, which puts stress on the airbag material (and may damage the airbag). It may be desirable to find a way to reduce this force that the inflation gas applies to the airbag. This would prevent damage to the airbag. Such a device is disclosed herein.